Moving Anniversary

It's hard to believe that we moved here just over a year ago. It seems hard to believe, but then I think about all that has happened and it actually seems like it's been a year. I wouldn't say that I'm 100% settled into Colorado. Although I feel pretty settled into our house. I still love with our house and I love walking through all of the rooms and just appreciating it for what it is. It's not the biggest or the fanciest house. Whit and I definitely have a greater sense of appreciation because we came from a tiny condo and that bug-infested guest house.

We're definitely not settled into our yard. I'm still trying to figure what is growing in our yard and if it's supposed to be there or not. I am learning what flowers grow well here. Growing season only lasts from May to October here and then you kind of leave it alone until the next season. I've planted geraniums and dahlias in containers and they're doing fairly well. I also planted petunias in some of our front beds. I've never worked with petunias before, but they're doing well, too. One really big yard difference is the amount of animals that live in our yard and nearby. We have a ton of birds. I love to watch the robins hopping in our yard and then peck at the ground. They are so aware of what's going on under the ground and they usually come up with a worm. We have a family of bunnies that lives next door. Whit has found owl pellets, so obviously there is an owl that comes at night. There are racoons, coyotes, and foxes. We've found several snakes in our yard. Early mornings can be pretty noisy. It almost sounds like a rainforest because there are so many birds chirping, tweeting, and squawking.

I've come to love Denver and Centennial even if I don't feel quite at home yet. I'm still learning to be more outdoorsy. It just doesn't come naturally for me. But I do hikes and take Ella for long walks through our neighborhood and down to the creek. Sometimes I still feel a little bit like a visitor and I wonder how long it takes before that feeling goes away. I wonder if it will ever go away. Regardless, I love where we live, I love everything that Colorado has to offer (even if I don't do it all yet), and I love driving up to our house, pulling into the driveway and realizing that I'm home.

The summer weather has been amazing. Although it gets hot in Denver during summer, it cools off at night and we tend to have afternoon thunderstorms blow in at around 3 or 4. They come in so fast. Within an hour the sky is dark and the thunder is rattling the windows. It cools everything off and it smells incredible. I love the way that rain smells when it's warm.

Our first year here has been happy, exciting, uncertain, difficult, memorable and wonderful. I can't wait to see what year two brings.

I'm a fisherwoman!!

We just got back from our family vacation a few hours ago. We were fortunately invited to Whit's sister's cabin in the very Northern corner of Wyoming/South Dakota border. Note: It was basically in South Dakota. The drive was a little bit long (almost 7 hours), but totally worth it. The cabin was beautiful, the area was beautiful, and I got to cross another state off on my "States I've Visited" list. The cabin is right on the banks of a fairly large creek and is just outside of the "black hills" of South Dakota. Yes, we did go to Mount Rushmore. We all had a great time. Whit's sister's (Kyra) kids were there to entertain Ella and Leigh and we had plenty of adult time. In fact, most of the time they didn't want anything to do with us they were having so much fun with their cousins. We fished, tubed, and visited the "swimmin' holes." The thing that I discovered...I love fly fishing! I didn't catch anything, but it was my favorite thing that I did all week. Who knew!


Just as we arrived. The kids headed down to the basement and right to the foosball table.



Whit trying to catch his breath after driving all day. Sitting in the main room with brother-in-law, Al.



Two of the cousins and Ella waiting for us to start dinner.



Deer in the yard the first night.



Day two, morning. View from the balcony.



Sand Creek.



Petey!



I love Petey!



Whit enjoying his morning coffee with...Petey!



The cousins getting ready for a bike ride.


Down the road from the cabin.



Ella is ready for a dip in the creek.






Ella loves Petey!



Whit's first time flyfishing. Al leads the way while Ella watches from the bank.






Walking into Rushmore.





Whit even finds time for a game of golf.



There go the cousins in tubes.





Ella, Kyra, and Brookie heading to the creek for a tube!



Getting into the creek.



Am I wearing a fanny pack?!



Ella with Auntie Kyra.



Whit floating by.




Flyfishing lesson with Kyra.



She stays far back from my casting.



Ella and I.



We're going in to try it for real.



Kyra needed a lot of patience.




She's the pro.



A successful week at the cabin with only one trip to the emergency room! Leigh cut his finger during cooking and needed 4 stitches. Other than that a great trip!